Dreams
by Cinnamon Dust
Summary: Distrubing dreams trouble our favorite hanyou, and as his adventures continue, these seem to become more like dire warnings than nightmares.
1. Chapter 1

Hey peoples! I am not quite sure of how this is going to unfold, so let's see together.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Takahashi-sama does. Ask her.

hr 

"Kagome! Come back! Listen!" Inuyasha called after the dark form of Kagome, running through the trees. The shadow halted and began running again, sparkling tears spattering the ground as she fled. Inuyasha broke into a full run, trying to catch the ever-elusive figure.

He broke through the trees in a rush of dead leaves, only to see the dark silhouette of Kagome running through tall, waving grasses. He placed a cautious foot on the tall grasses, and began to wade through the waist high, waving grass in an effort to regain Kagome. He watched as the rough grass nicked his unprotected feet, and as it swished back into place behind him, leaving no trace whatsoever. 'How did Kagome get through this? Shippou could walk ON TOP OF this stuff!' he thought as he continued, casting distressed glances up at the sky. Tell-tale veins of gold and red crept across the sky, causing Inuyasha to sigh.

Around midnight, Inuyasha came upon another set of forest, barren, towering and forbidden. Inuyasha tread carefully, watching as the white mist roiled at the disturbance. Inuyasha glanced up and stopped. A beech, an elm, an ash, and an oak stood towering in a small square, leafless, and barren. Gnarled roots and dead vines stretched up each; they had strangled each other.

A vicious hiss resounded through the air, and he whirled. A good thing too; an arrow sped by where his head had been a moment ago.

"You, where's Kagome?" he asked the cloaked figure standing at the base of a towering Ash, holding a Yew bow. A single swift movement and a long arrow imbedded itself in his chest, straight through him, into the tree behind him. Inuyasha looked over in horror; Kagome was pinned along side him, blue with death, blood staining her crisp white shirt. He looked up at the strange person through hazy eyes. "Why? Who are….you….?" He asked, voice thin and broken in death. The person reached up and pulled back the long hood that voided its face…

Inuyasha jerked awake. Breathing heavily, he looked around, seeing Kagome was still asleep alongside him, curled on the floor. Sango lay beyond and Miroku was at the edge of the dying firelight. Shippou lay on top of Sango's boomerang, curled and totally asleep. Sighing and rising quietly, Inuyasha went out side the small shack, looking up at the starlit sky, lost deep in thought.

'Why….why is it the same dream, over and over…..fifth time this week…' he thought, watching the twinkling stars.

"Why are you up again?" Kagome's tired voice asked him. He glanced over in surprise. "Fifth time this week," she said, shivering and snuggling closer to him, chilled by the brisk night air. He would have liked to have wrapped his arms protectively around her, but….Kagome shivered again and led him inside, stating it was too cold. "What wrong? Something's bothering you, I can tell." She murmured, sitting down, and gesturing beside her.

He sat down. "It's really nothing Kagome. Why are you up?" He asked in return.

"I heard you mutter about me not listening, and…you looked really sad….and then like you hurt…..and then, you woke up." Kagome confessed quietly, leaning closer to get warm. Inuyasha removed his Haori shirt and placed it over her shoulders.

"Go back to sleep, Kagome… Don't worry about me." He murmured in what he thought was a soothing fashion.

Kagome sighed, snuggling into the warmth of his Fire-rat hair shirt.

"Ok…" she sighed and slid down into a curled position on the floor. Inuyasha listened to her slowing breathing, giving a smile as she rolled onto his lap. He realized what she was doing, and shifted her aside. While settling to try and go to sleep again, he murmured a final, sad sentence.

"If only you knew, Kagome, if only you knew." He whispered and dropped into a deep sleep, his first in six full days.

hr 

I'm not so good at fanfic yet, but we will see.

-Cinnamon Dust


	2. Chapter 2

Wowz. This took me a long time. (short story, short chapters)

No, I don't own Inuyasha.

Inuyahsa was awake by the time Kagome sat up, disturbed by the golden shafts of sunlight filtering through the thatched roof. A small glitter behind Inuyahsa's eyes was all that gave away his concealed uneasiness. Shippou sat up, yawning.

"Kagome, I'm hungry…" He whined, crawling into her lap.

"Ok, we'll eat something. Inuyasha, what's wrong?" She asked, noting that Inuyasha was walking around pushing distressed glances through the tattered roof to the sky.

Miroku woke up next, stretching his legs out to relive his cramped muscles and in the process tripping Inuyasha.

"Baka," he muttered, getting to his feet.

"My, a rotten temper today, eh Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, shifting closer to Sango. Inuyasha huffed angrily, swung the tattered cloth of a door to one side and stepped out.

Sango awoke next, sensing the proximity of a certain perverted monk. She caught a glimpse of the cloth settling back into place.

"Come with me, Sango, I'm going to go get some firewood to cook breakfast." Kagome covered with the good old standby.

forest

"Kagome….What's wrong with Inuyasha?" Sango asked quietly, adding another stick to her small heap of dry wood.

"I don't know….He's been like this a lot….And he won't tell me why… I'm starting to be kind of worried…"Kagome said, concentrating hard on picking up another stick. Both girls were too busy speaking in hushed tones and collecting firewood, they did not notice Inuyasha listening to them from the trees.

the hut

Miroku staggered to the wall, and slid down it, stretching his long legs. "Owwww…" He moaned as the cramped tendons stretched painfully.

_She's worried about me._ Inuyasha was lost in his thoughts as he sat across the shack from Miroku. Miroku grabbed Kagome's pack and fished out some bowls and sets of chopsticks. He raised an eyebrow as Inuyasha continued to think, rather than berate him for 'snooping around Kagome's stuff'. He put down the pack tentatively and shot Inuyasha a single question;

"Inuyasha, what's wrong?" He winced as a tendon in his knee shifted back into place.

Inuyasha set golden eyes cast of stone on him and he knew he had made a mistake. "Nothing! Nothing is wrong with me! Why can't you people leave me alone?" He shouted, getting up angrily. Miroku waved his hands defensively.

"Ok! Ok! Sumimasen! I'll let you be!" He said, cringing. Inuyasha stalked out the door. "Phew." Miroku sighed, wiping one hand across his brow, signaling close escape.

The entire group sat in the tiny shack, eating their breakfast in a tired solemnity. Inuyasha was lost in deep thought…eating his ramen slowly.

"…Inuyasha, are you okay?" Kagome asked, noting that his ramen bowl was near full.

He nodded and put down the bowl. "I'm fine,"

"Wow, Inuyasha, why didn't you eat your ramen?" Shippou asked, investigating the bowl with his sensitive fox nose.

Kagome's head snapped up, and she looked around worriedly.

"Kagome-Chan? What's wrong?" Sango asked.

"I-I think…yes, a shikon no kakera." She said quietly.

"Where?" Inuyasha asked, not looking up.

"…" Kagome scanned the air with her unique sense. "To the East."

"Well," Miroku said nervously. "Then what are we waiting for?" He stood up, obviously confused by the hanyou's odd behavior.

Late that night

The Inu-tachi had found a quiet clearing in the dark forest to rest in, and Inuyasha immediately adopted the nearest tree. He sat in one of the higher branches, watching the extravagant sunset.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome called. "I have some ramen if you want some."

Inuyasha shook his head and disappeared into the foliage.

When the rest of the group had fallen asleep, Inuyasha crept to one of the lower branches. He settled against the inside of the tree and fell into a haggard sleep, borne of sheer exhaustion.

So much to do, so little time. So review, please!

-Cinnamondust


End file.
